Quatrain for the loved one

Persian quatrain, or ruba'i, describing competition for the loved one, in black Nasta'liq script by the calligrapher Hasan Shamlu (d. ca.1666-7) Iran. An kas ka bi-dast jam darad / 'Aysh u tarab-i mudam darad / Ma u may u zahidan u taqva / Ta yar sar-i kudam darad Dimensions of Written Surface: 8.3 (w) x 16 (h) cm That person who holds a glass (of wine) in his hand / Has everlasting pleasure and joy. / We, wine, devout and pious ones, / Which one will the beloved prefer? The calligrapher Hasan Shamlu has signed his work in the lower right corner of the text panel with the expression "written by..."(mashaqahu...). Hasan Shamlu (d. ca.1666-7) was a calligrapher in nasta'liq script who followed closely the style of his predecessor Mir 'Imad (d. 1615). Although works by Hasan Shamlu are rather uncommon (Mehdi Zadeh 1369/1950: 50-51), Mir 'Imad's calligraphies are well attested to in the collections of the Library of Congress (1-84-154.3, 1-84-154.43, 1-85-154.72, 1-85-154.77, 1-87-154.160, 1-90-154.162). Both calligraphers provide a continuum of calligraphic works produced in nasta'liq script in (Greater) Persia during the course of the 17th century. The verses are executed in black nasta'liq script on a beige paper and are outlined in cloud bands on a background painted in gold. The text panel is provided by several monochromatic frames and pasted to a larger pink sheet of paper backed by cardboard. This calligraphic fragment includes an iambic pentameter quatrain, or ruba'i, describing competition for the loved one. At the top, the verses are initiated by an invocation to God ("He," or huwa), and its numerical (abjad) equivalent 111. The poem then reads: Script: nasta'liq 1-85-154.68